Net neutrality update October 2016
The Washington Post reported that Facebook is discussing making its Free Basics service available with US government officials and wireless carriers. Free Basics services are available for free without data charges, and include news, employment, health, education and local information. Questions have been raised whether such “zero rating” conflicts with net neutrality requirements and guidelines, in that Free Basics content is handled differently from other internet content. The Hill reported that more than 70 groups have appealed to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ban zero rating. See this previous post for more background on Free Basics and zero rating.
The Dutch Senate approved legislation implementing the EU regulation on net neutrality and the end to roaming surcharges. From Telecompaper: “Dutch law already incorporated the principle of net neutrality under changes to the Telecom Act passed in 2012. This included a stricter stance than the EU regulation on various issues, notably a ban on price discrimination.” T-Mobile Netherlands plans a court appeal to challenge the law; the GSMA warned that the new law goes beyond and is incompatible with the EU Open Internet Regulation. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) announced an investigation whether T-Mobile’s zero rated Music Freedom service complies with Dutch regulations on net neutrality. See commentary from Light Reading and also this previous post for more background on European net neutrality regulations and guidelines.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it had reached a $48 million settlement with T-Mobile to address inadequate disclosures of speed and data restrictions for its ‘unlimited’ data plan subscribers: “Company advertisements and other disclosures may have led unlimited data plan customers to expect that they were buying better and faster service than what they received”. The settlement requires T-Mobile to update its disclosures to explain its traffic management practices and restrictions more clearly.
Finally, the New York Post reported remarks by Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings that he is not concerned about AT&T’s planned purchase of Time Warner so long as Netflix is treated the same as Time Warner’s HBO service.
